CropLife America's CEO speaks at Far West Agribusiness gathering

The Far West Agribusiness Association 2016 January Winter Conference was held last week at the College of Southern Idaho and one of the notable speakers was Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America.

Vroom's speech focused on the new technology farmers can use to expand their horizons. He made a point of mentioning the obligation farmers have to use today’s technologies and for science to continue to be the central focus of agricultural technology regulation.

“Growers in states like Idaho have dramatically increased their potato, corn and other crop yields in the past 100 or so years, and crop protection technology is a vital and necessary part of that success story,” Vroom said. “Corn yields across the nation increased almost 60 percent in just 20 years from 1993-2013. At this rate, we’ll add an additional 8.3 billion bushels to the U.S. crop alone by 2033. While losing millions of acres to development, our farmland continues to exceed production rates — which cannot be done without the proper armor to fight the incessant barrage of pests and crop threats.”

Vroom wants farmers to look to CropLife America as a resource when researching pesticide policy and to get local and state groups more involved in regional communication. He stresses that communication is key to solving many problems within the agricultural community.

The FWAA's mission is to enhance the business and safety environment for the fertilizer and agrichemical industry in the northwestern United States.